bennett



No Model.) 3 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. W. BENNETT.

' GAS SAVER. No. 339,333. Patented Sept; 18, 1333..

4 z r y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORSON W. BENNETT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

GAS-SAVE-R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,633, datedSeptember 18, 1888.

Application filed January 14, 1888. Serial No. 260,680.

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ORSON W. BENNETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented newand useful Improvements in Gas- Savers, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in gas-saving devices in which aflexible diaphragm is employed for automatically controlling a valve forregulating the transmission of a uniform flow of gas to the burners, andthereby prevent waste resulting from undue pressure at the burners andthe escape of unconsumed carbon, the blackening of the walls andpaintings with smoke, and the contamination 0f the air in the apartmentby noxious gases; and the objects of my improvement are to provide forincreasing the durability and imperviousness of the diaphragm,toincrease the sensitiveness of the diaphragm, to simplify and perfectthe construction of the device, and to save gas. In such devices thediaphragm when made of leather soon becomes hard and stiff, and isliable to crack and the pores to open from the drying action of the airon one side and the bad effects of gas in the pressure-chamber. Theleather, moreover, is not impervious to gas under pressure, and, as itloses its flexibility under the hardening action of the 'air and gas, itis not so uniformly and readily sensitive to the pressure of the gas,and'the device thereby fails to be reliable. My improvement is directedto provision whereby the diaphragm is protected from the drying andhardening action of the airand gas and rendered impervious andsensitive. 'For this purpose the diaphragm is made to hold a lubricantin a floating condition, so as to practically form a covering therefor,spread out upon'the top of the dia phragm to a sufficient depth to lasta considerable time. This top covering-seal greatly increases thedurability of the diaphragm and maintains its sensitivcness to a degreewhich is highly important in its function of effecting a uniform flow ofgas through the device under varying degrees of pressure.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section of myimproved gassaver, and Figs. 2 and 3 show modifications in theconstruction of the case.-

its entire surface.

(No model.)

The case a, which forms the diaphragnrcontaining chamber a and containsthe inlet-tube d, may be of any suitable form and size; but I prefer tospin the body in the form of a cup having an outlet-pipe, 0, extendingfrom its side for connection with the burner-supply ing pipe, and havingan open bottom neck by which it is soldered toa central inlet-tube, d,which extends and opens within the chamber of the ease. The top of thiscase is closed by the diaphragm e; and I have provided a very simplemeans for securing the edges of the diaphragm to the top edges of thiscase, which means consists Qf'liWWniDg-bmIdS7 f' fOflIf1- equal width,betWeeii whlblr thwedges of the diaphragm are first seeured,and theinner ring,

f of least width, isthen soldered around the outside of the top edge ofthe case.

To the outerring of greatest width I hinge the cover 9, by which accessmaybe had to the diaphragm, said co ver having provision for locking it.7

The lower end of the inlet-tube has the valve-seat formed in it and alsohas an exterior screw-thread to receive a valveehamber forming couplingh, which may be connected to the meter outlet-pipe by a screw-coupling,i as shown. The valve is carried by a stem, j which is fitted to workinguides 76 in the inlet-tube, extends through and is secured centrally tothe diaphragm, and is weighted to obtain a balancing adjustment of thevalve with the pressure of the gas. This connection of the valve-stemwith the diaphragm is made by clamp-plates riveted together with thediaphragm-between them.

The diaphragm is specially constructed to hold a covering lubricant influid conditiop for keepirigit soft and rendering it impervious to thegas, and for this purpose the diaphragm is made sufficiently full toretain the form of abasininallthevaryingmovements. Thecupor basin willretain o l, wjfilfl bygapillar and rsraritmrilt ta rw k fatdbf theleather sathr'ated and rising an fallingw'ith itthat 1s, moving with thediaphragm in a floating body and serving to seal By this topoil-covering I am enabled to use a thicker and stronger KOO leather, bymaking it soft and more sensitive,

'with less danger of rupture of the leather or leak of gas through itspores from the press are it is obliged to endure. I prefer to useleather of the character stated; but any suitable flexible material maybe used having proper sensitiveness and which will retain a coveringfloating lubricant. The oil in the diaphragm-basin can be renewed whennecessary to preserve the diaphragm in the desired condition, which is amatter of great importance in such a device.

It is important to protect the valve from the direct impingement of thegas,and it is equally important to protect the diaphragm from the directimpingement of the gas, and for this purpose I provide a shield,m,in thevalve-inlet coupling, so that the inflow will be directed up over thewalls of the valve-chamber, and Iprel'erably close the upper end of theinlettube and provide thelatter with side openings, 02, so that theinflow will be arrested at the top of the tube and flow out saidopenings, filling the pressu rc-chamber, and thus prevent a strongcurrent of gas impinging upwardly against the under side of thediaphragm and affecting the position of the valve under an ever-varyingvolume of gas from the inflow.

To permittheini'low and the ontflowofthe air into and from theease-chamber above the diaphragm, I provide a short vertical tube, r, inthe top of the case-cover, and to prevent injury to the diaphragm by apuncturing instruinent introduced through this opening I provide a coveror guard, s, for the tube, placed either 011 the outside or on the innerside of the case-cover, having openings at, so that the air can enterand pass out of the top chamber to relieve the diaphragm fromcompressing the air within the top chamber. In the construction shown inFig. 1 the inlet-tube serves as asupport for the case, the valvcseat,ascrew-coupling for the valve-chamber, forming section It, and a guidefor the valve-stem, and makes a convenient and cheap construction.

Tar and drippiugs which may collect in the pressure-chainher can beremoved by plug Securing the diaphragm to the top edge of the ease givesthe advantage of first securing the diaphragm between riugbands, whichcan be conveniently soldered to the top edge of the case and thus makeaconvenicnt and cheap construction, and the joint of the diaphragm,being outside of the case,can be easil y soldered at the edges of itsfastcningrings around the outside of the case.

In the construction shown in Fig. 2 I use a diving outlet chamber, tothe top plate of which the diaphragm-seenring ring-bands are soldered,while Fig. 3 shows separate inlet and outlet chambers and an inlet-tubehaving a piston-valve operating inverted-V-shaped openings in the sidesof the tube.

Now, as the function of the valve is to regulate the flow of the volumeof gas into the pressure-chamber, it will readily be seen that thediaphragm that controls the valve should be durable, sensitive, andimpervious to gas, and this is what my improvement effects in a greaterdegree of perfection than hitherto attained.

Referring to the diaphragm and to the floating lubricant which itcarries, I prefer to use neats-foot oil as such lubricant, because itcontains oil, glue, and water, and in a short time after being placedupon the diaphragm will produce a thin glutinous film on the surface ofthe lubricant, which will serve to prevent the evaporation of the latterand cause it to last a long time. Moreover, this glutinous film willform a coating for the surface of the diaphragm and aid in keeping itsaturated with the oil and sealing its pores, because, although thevalve-connected part of the diaphragm is always below the line where itjoins the ring-bands, the lubricant will, by capillary attraction, becaused to spread up and over the diaphragm and cover it by such film toitsjoining with the ring-bands.

The state of the art in devices of the kind herein described shows thatit has been proposed to lubricate the leather diaphragm by surroundingits lower edge with a body of oil contained in an annular space withinthe wall of the casing, so that the diaphragm, absorbing the oil aroundits lower edge, may, by capillary attraction, keep the whole body of theleather lubricated. In such provision the lubrication of the diaphragmmust depend solely upon the attraction of the oil in minute hair-likeramifications over the surface of the leather. This capacity of thepores of the leather to attract the oil all over it is not sufiicient toprevent the drying action of the air all over the top of the diaphragm,nor the drying and hardening action of the gas on its under side,because the capillary method of lubrication is too limited and too slow.Moreover, by this method the ab sorption ofthc oil is constant, as thedrying action upon the leather is constant, and the supply of the oilmust therefore be frequently renewed, which is both troublesome andinconvenient to the user of the device. This method, moreover, is notsufficientto saturate the leather so as to render its pores imperviousto gas under pressure.

By my improvement, which transfers the lubricant from the lower edge tothe top surface of the diaphragm, the oil is caused to act by gravity ina body to fill the pores of the leather,and the oil is caused tosaturate the dia phragm by its weight and by a soaking action. Theoil,standing in a body upon the top surface of the diaphragm, covers andseals it against the drying action of the air, and so completely fillsits pores that the absorption is not constant, and the oil supply willlast longer. Making the diaphragm as the receptacle for the oildispenses with provision for forming the oil receptacle within thecasing and simplifies the construction and lessens the cost of thedevice. Making the diaphragm the holder for the oil renders itslubrication uniform at every point and renders the softness of the dia-ICC phragm uniform at every point,while the dia-- phragm forms anoi1reservoir, the overflow from which seals the joint of the diaphragmof the pressure-chamber. I claim- 1. In a gas-regulator, thecombination, with a suitable chamber-forming case, of a flexiblediaphragm having a top floating, lubricating, and sealing body, Z, aninlet-tube, and a valve controlled by said diaphragm, substantially asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, in a gas'regulator, of the diaphragm and itsseparate fastening ringbands f f, with the chamber-forming case part towhich said ring-bands are soldered, and the valve 1), controlled by saiddiaphragm, as shown and described.

. 3. In agas-regulator, the combination, with the cup-forming case a andits inlet-tube d,

of the diaphragm, its ring-bands f f thelat- 2o 'ter being solderedaround the top edge of said cup, and the valve controlled by saiddiaphragm, as shown and described.

4. The combination of the cup-forming case a, the diaphragm, and thevalve controlled 25 thereby with the inlet-tube d, soldered to the neckof said case, screw-threaded, and having a valve-seat at its lower end,closed at its upper end, and having side openings, at, and the coupling71, havingthe shield m, all con- 0

